UCL Matchday 3 – Talking Points & Betting Preview
The world’s finest soccer players will battle to lead their teams to victory when the Champions League group stage resumes for Matchday 3.
Heavyweights including Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and PSG have taken maximum points thus far, and they will be keen to extend their winning streaks. Struggling teams such as Juventus and Chelsea will be desperate for points, while surprise packages like Club Brugge and Sporting Lisbon will aim to defy the odds once again.
We have rounded up the current state of play in Europe’s leading soccer competition, previewed the biggest games within Matchday 3 and provided our top tips.
When Do The Champions League Matchday 3 Games Take Place?
The Champions League group stage games start on Tuesday evening in Europe. Most of the matches are held at 8pm UTC, which means that Australian soccer fans will need to wait until 5am on Wednesday morning to watch the action. There are another eight matches on Wednesday evening in Europe, which means they will be shown on Thursday morning AEST.
Standings & State of Play
Group A:
| # | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Napoli | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 3 |
| 3 | Ajax | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Rangers | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | -7 | 0 |
Napoli have made a blistering start to their Champions League campaign, thrashing Liverpool 4-1 and Rangers 3-0. Liverpool bounced back from that defeat by scraping a 2-1 victory over Ajax at Anfield, and they can now look forward to back-to-back clashes with a struggling Rangers team.
Group B:
| # | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Club Brugge | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| 2 | Bayer Leverkusen | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Atlético Madrid | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| 4 | Porto | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | -5 | 0 |
Very few pundits expected Club Brugge to be sitting atop Group B after two rounds of fixtures. The Belgian champions beat Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 in their opener, and they then thumped Porto 4-0 at Estádio do Dragão. That was a disastrous result for the Portuguese champions, who must now take on Leverkusen in a bid to drag themselves off the foot of the table. Atlético Madrid secured a last-gasp victory over Porto on Matchday 1, but Diego Simeone’s men produced a meek performance when losing 2-0 in Leverkusen.
Group C:
| # | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Inter Milan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Viktoria Plzen | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | -6 | 0 |
Bayern deserve a great deal of credit for securing consecutive victories over Inter Milan and Barcelona in Group C. That leaves them with a great chance of qualifying for the knockout stage, as they should win their next two matches against Viktoria Plzen. Inter and Barça will now face one another home and away, and whoever comes out on top will be in pole position to reach the Round of 16.
Group D:
| # | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Sporting Lisbon | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 3 |
| 4 | Marseille | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 |
Sporting eased to a 3-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt before beating Tottenham 2-0 in Lisbon last time out. Spurs will hope to bounce back when they head to Frankfurt, while Marseille will aim to gain their first points of the group stage when they welcome Sporting to the south of France.
Group E:
| # | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1 | AC Milan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2 | Dinamo Zagreb | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| 3 | RB Salzburg | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 1 |
Group E looks wide open after a series of tight clashes. Chelsea were the early favourites to win the group, but they are bottom of the standings following a shock 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb and a draw with RB Salzburg. Serie A champions AC Milan have stormed to the top of the standings, but they now face a double-header against Chelsea.
Group F:
| # | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Real Madrid | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| 2 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 3 | Celtic | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 1 |
| 4 | RB Leipzig | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | -5 | 0 |
Real Madrid have seized control of Group F after sweeping Celtic and RB Leipzig aside. The main surprise has been the form of Shakhtar Donetsk, who lost their star Brazilian contingent after Russia invaded Ukraine. They cobbled a squad together, and they have made a strong start to proceedings.
Group G:
| # | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Manchester City | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| 2 | Borussia Dortmund | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Copenhagen | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 1 |
| 4 | Sevilla | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 1 |
Man City are all but assured of a place in the Round of 16, leaving the other three teams to fight for second-place. Right now, it is advantage Borussia Dortmund thanks to their 3-0 victory over Copenhagen. Sevilla sold their two best defenders in the summer, and they have made a poor start to the season.
Group H:
| 1 | PSG | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 2 | Benfica | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | Juventus | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 0 |
| 4 | Maccabi Haifa | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -4 | 0 |
PSG and Benfica both boast perfect records in Group H, but they are now gearing up to face one another in Lisbon. That could provide Juventus with a chance to make up lost ground, provided they can play close to their full potential against Maccabi Haifa.
Matchday 3 Standout Games
Inter vs. Barcelona
There will be a wealth of attacking talent on the pitch when these talented teams lock horns at the San Siro. Barcelona are the $1.81 favourites to secure victory, but they will need to be at their very best to beat Inter, who have a superb home record.
Liverpool vs. Rangers
Liverpool have made a sluggish start to the new campaign, so manager Jurgen Klopp will need to rally his troops for a vital clash with Rangers at Anfield. They are priced at $1.18 to get the job done, while Liverpool -2 Asian handicap is $1.74.
Chelsea vs. AC Milan
Former Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud will return to Stamford Bridge when the Blues host AC Milan in Matchday 3. The French striker has a habit of scoring crucial goals, so Chelsea defenders Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly will need to be alert to crosses into the box. We make Chelsea the $1.74 favourites to secure their first win under new manager Graham Potter, while the draw is $3.85 and Milan are $4.60 outsiders.
Benfica vs. PSG
Benfica have a 100% record in the Champions League this season after securing impressive victories over Maccabi Haifa and Juventus. However, they will now have to contend with PSG’s fabled attacking triumvirate of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar. They have lit up the Champions League already this season, so the Parisians are the $1.71 favourites, while the draw is $4.30 and Benfica are priced at $4.20 to maintain their winning run.
Champions League Futures
We now make Man City the $2.95 favourites for Champions League glory after their superb start to the group stage. These are the full Champions League winner odds:
| Team | Champions League Winner Odds |
| Manchester City | 2.95 |
| Bayern Munich | 6 |
| PSG | 6.5 |
| Liverpool | 9 |
| Real Madrid | 11 |
| Barcelona | 12 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 21 |
| Chelsea | 31 |
| Napoli | 41 |
| AC Milan | 51 |
| Atletico Madrid | 51 |
| Ajax | 67 |
| Benfica | 81 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 81 |
| Inter Milan | 81 |
| Juventus | 81 |
| Club Brugge | 176 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 201 |
| RB Leipzig | 201 |
| Sporting Lisbon | 201 |
| Salzburg | 226 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 251 |
| Porto | 251 |
| Sevilla | 251 |
| FC Copenhagen | 501 |
| Glasgow Celtic | 501 |
| Marseille | 501 |
| Rangers | 501 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 501 |
You can also bet on the winner of each group, which teams will qualify for the knockout stage and the top scorer, so check out the Champions League futures markets here.
UCL Matchday 3 Tips
Tottenham to beat Eintracht Frankfurt at $2.03
Spurs have made an indifferent start to their Champions League campaign, but they should have enough firepower to secure a vital away win against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Sporting Lisbon +0.0/+0.05 vs. Marseille at $1.87
Rúben Amorim’s men have been magnificent so far this season, and they have enough quality to get a result against Marseille.
Liverpool, Man City, Real Madrid and Juventus to win – 4-leg multi at $1.90
Liverpool and Man City should make short work of Rangers and Copenhagen respectively, while Real Madrid look vastly superior to a depleted Shakhtar Donetsk team. Juventus have a must-win game against Maccabi Haifa, and they should edge that one.
**Odds quoted are accurate at the time of writing but are subject to change.
